That day, Julietta wasn’t the only one who had a good dream. Yezar fell asleep listening to Julietta’s soft, rhythmic breathing as she slept soundly. And for the first time in a long while, he woke up feeling exceptionally good.
Looking outside the window, he saw the morning mist hanging in the air.
“If I don’t get dressed, the lady might be startled….”
Yezar picked up his clothes, which had slipped off without him even noticing, and gazed at Julietta’s face—so deeply asleep she wouldn’t even realize if someone carried her away.
“It would’ve been nice if you showed just a little sleepiness, just a small habit.”
He had thought she deliberately answered she had no sleep habits because she was embarrassed. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Instead of heading out for training, Yezar sat beside Julietta for a while. Her round forehead, sharply defined nose, lips tinged red.
And though hidden now and not visible, her eyes that shone beautifully like a vibrant forest full of life.
As he carefully studied her, it almost felt as if she would open her eyes any moment and ask, “Why are you staring at my face? Is there something on it?”
“Hmph.”
Just the thought—so vivid and real—made Yezar unintentionally smile. Why was it that whenever he looked at her, laughter kept bubbling up?
Not long ago, on the day of the nationally celebrated royal wedding, he had stayed behind in the mansion, making excuses, helplessly swallowing his pain because he couldn’t bring himself to attend.
“You’re strange. You keep occupying my thoughts, making me laugh… knocking on my heart.”
Bertisha Hermine. The woman who had now become Bertisha de Cloud. Yezar had been drawn to her as if fated to love her. But that blind emotion, which even he couldn’t understand, had brought nothing but excruciating pain and emptiness.
But with Julietta, it was different. Yes, not only now—but even back then….
“Back then, you made me laugh too. Why can’t you recognize me?”
Julietta didn’t know, but their first meeting wasn’t at the Orbetian household during the contract exchange. When he first visited the count’s estate, he had hoped she might recognize him—but instead, Julietta treated him like a complete stranger.
That stung a little. For him, it had been a rather intense memory. Yet she seemed completely unaware.
“It’s a shame you don’t remember after drinking too much. You also don’t seem to recall saying that love at first sight isn’t as dangerous as the kind that slowly seeps into your heart.”
He gently stroked her rose-colored hair. Though touching her hair wouldn’t hurt her, he did so as carefully as if handling fragile porcelain.
He couldn’t bring himself to touch the rest. As she had said, he wasn’t a rogue who touched a woman’s body without consent.
The woman sleeping peacefully before him didn’t seem to remember their past meeting, yet spoke as if she knew herself better than anyone else.
Come to think of it, it was strange. His contract wife acted as if she would give up everything in the world, yet the moment the contract period ended, she’d coldly declare they were strangers, annoyingly so. She was a woman who bounced unpredictably, impossible to pin down. Yet he didn’t dislike this Julietta. On the contrary, he was slowly melting into her.
The smile that kept surfacing on its own made him look forward to the days ahead with her.
“I’ll be back, my lady.”
As if she had truly heard his whisper, Julietta’s head shifted slightly. Seeing that, Yezar gave a gentle, affectionate smile.
The kind of smile that, if Julietta saw it, would make her close her eyes, claiming a halo was shining behind him.
[This is the timeline separator]“Mmm. Slept well.”
I woke up refreshed and stretched my arms wide. Looking to the side, Yezar seemed to have already left for training.
“My contract husband is quite diligent.”
Clearly, even after such training, he would spend the rest of his day swamped with various duties, inspecting the estate—his 24 hours surely wouldn’t be enough.
“I wish I could help him a little.”
He wouldn’t show a contract wife like me the intricate details of estate affairs, and I didn’t expect that much either. But if even my clumsy paws could help lighten his workload, that would be great.
While I was groaning and pondering, I heard a knock.
“May I come in?”
“Come in.”
At my reply, the bedroom door opened, revealing a rather elderly-looking veteran maid, followed closely by several younger maids who seemed younger than me.
“Madam, did you rest well?”
I vaguely remembered seeing their faces, but after the first night, I’d been too busy chasing after the runaway Yezar—and suffering from a hangover—to pay attention.
“Yes. I slept well. Sorry, but I’ve been so busy adjusting. Could you introduce yourselves properly again?”
I asked apologetically, feeling oddly guilty. But the maid in front smoothly replied without a hint of annoyance.
“No need to apologize. I should be the one sorry for not attending to you sooner. I am Ember, your personal maid. The girls behind me are, in order, May, Brinny, and Chelsea.”
Then the visibly nervous girls introduced themselves. One of them seemed to trip over her tongue while speaking. The look Ember gave her was razor-sharp.
She was clearly in for a scolding later.
‘Now that I think about it, the atmosphere here is stricter than at the count’s estate. I thought this mansion, ruled by Yezar, would be gentler.’
“It’s late for greetings, but I’m glad to meet you all. I look forward to working with you.”
When I smiled, the girls’ tension visibly eased, and they responded brightly.
“Yes, Madam!”
Only then did Ember lower her stern gaze and smile.
Strict about mistakes, yet praising and guiding when they did well. Well, they didn’t know my personality yet.
I tended to be easygoing—unless it was a major mistake, I usually let things slide. But other noble ladies? Who knows… some would scold and even punish for the smallest errors.
“Then, Madam, shall we prepare your bath?”
“Thank you. Ah, has the Duke already had breakfast?”
I asked, thinking he probably had since he woke so early for training. But Ember shook her head.
“No, he hasn’t eaten yet.”
“Oh? I thought he’d already finished, waking up so early.”
At my reply, the maids behind exchanged glances. But Ember in front answered firmly.
“He usually eats breakfast late, after finishing all his training. So you can wash up and eat together with him.”
Something felt off. Ember’s kind smile seemed suspicious, so I quickly glanced behind.
“You’re May, right?”
“Y-yes! Madam.”
“Are you sure the Duke really eats late?”
It was already past the time he should’ve finished breakfast, so I asked. But strangely, May’s eyes darted not to me, but to Ember.
“Um….”
May stammered for a moment before hastily replying.
“Yes, he usually eats late! Isn’t it perfect? You can eat together every day.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine to eat separately sometimes?”
Even in our mansion, family meals were rare. Father and the eldest brother were busy, and Weaslet would sometimes eat with me, but often went off with his fiancée to restaurants she liked due to their romance business.
But my thoughtless comment seemed to shock them deeply.
“That’s absolutely unacceptable!”
“Yes! The Duke is already so busy—he barely gets to eat with you except at breakfast!”
The quiet maids suddenly raised their voices.
“But on the first and second day, I ate alone just fine….”
“That’s exactly why! We understood at first because the Duke was busy and you were suffering from a hangover, but now it’s different!”
I couldn’t understand why they cared so much about eating together. I thought they were quiet and easygoing at first, but apparently they’d been holding back out of consideration.
Ember joined in.
“Exactly. As your personal maid, I will ensure from now on that you and the Duke have breakfast together. So please, no more… comments that feel like my soul is being ripped out….”
Ember’s expression looked strangely exhausted as she spoke.
‘Was my comment really that shocking?’
I knew some of the duke’s staff were aware of our contract marriage. But apparently not.
Seeing how deeply my personal maid was shaken into silence, I began to suspect that perhaps only the two of us knew about the contract.
‘Then… does that mean we have to act like a loving couple within the ducal household?’
Thank goodness we’d agreed in advance to allow physical contact with mutual consent.
If rumors ever spread that we weren’t getting along, we could simply hold hands and walk affectionately in the garden.
Even a contract marriage was still a marriage, it seemed. I hadn’t expected so many complicated, awkward moments.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have signed so blindly. But then again, where else could I find a husband like Yezar?’
Besides, it was only two years before divorce. I should talk to Yezar properly when we’re alone later.
Seeing Ember still dazed, I quickly apologized for my mistake. I had no intention of throwing around the authority of a duchess.
“In the count’s household, I often ate alone, so I must’ve misspoken. I’m sorry.”
When I smiled lightly, the maids’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Alone?”
“Hmm?”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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